You might have heard about the gas shortage that occurred in early May due to the infection of Colonial Pipeline’s computer systems with ransomware, courtesy of unnamed hackers. This incident is just the most recent in a growing number of cyberattacks on cities, schools, and even hospitals - the aim being to infect a computer [...]
Scrolling through pictures on my phone from about a year ago, I came across this stunning reminder of what a wild ride the last 13 months have been. That evening, I literally paused the broadcast to take a picture of my TV screen. It was March 13, 2020. The headlines were catastrophic. So, as we [...]
Roy Sullivan was enjoying a quiet Saturday morning of trout fishing when the lightning bolt struck. It hit him on the top of his head and exited his lower body, causing burns down his chest and abdomen. Stunned by the strike but still alive, Sullivan was returning to his car when a black bear charged [...]
On June 9, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule—the most famous and controversial set of investment regulations you’ve probably never heard of—is going to start taking effect. The rule promises better protection for investors who employ financial advisors to help manage their retirement accounts, including rollovers into an Individual Retirement Account. The Fiduciary Rule [...]
Investment Demons: Are you a Self-Deceiver? I've mentioned this before in relation to long-term investment strategies: Sir John Templeton (the father of international investing and considered one of the great investment icons of the twentieth century) often advised that you have to look foolish (sometimes even stupid) in the short-term in order to look [...]
Don't Fall For the Siren Song! The Deceptive Returns of Active Managers I tend not to like reinventing the wheel; there are a number of great authors out there who are ‘singing our song’ - that is discussing the research vis-a-vis what Wall Street hypes. When markets are negatively volatile, it’s easy to get [...]
Hold the line! Welcome to 2016! Where the market is giving everyone the heebee-geebees! We’ve been to this dance before folks, and we’re watching who’s pulling the strings. And the truth is: nobody knows where the market is heading next or how long the this roller coaster will last. We’ve had a couple of [...]
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story Every so often a new show hits Broadway with lights that shine brighter than the rest. In 1996, Rent celebrated a group of impoverished East Village artists struggling to thrive in the shadow of AIDS. In 2003, Wicked imagined the lives of the witches of Oz [...]
The Spinning ‘Talking Heads’ Watching the ‘market’ squeeze the “false credibility” out the “experts” these past few weeks has been entertaining if nothing else. The end of the 3rd quarter proved annoying, with bouts of anxiety and frustration. It almost feels like 2008 again! In late August, the message was that “everyone should have seen [...]